A Simple Desire
by Komidol
Summary: The needs and wants of one are never taken into consideration. She wanted someone to understand her. He wanted to be useful. She wanted to do what was right. Things don't always work out the way you want them to. Slight AU, LuteciaxErioxCaro.
1. Threads of Balance

This story takes place post StrikerS, but I'm changing some things, mostly around episode 22-23, and mostly involving Zest and Lutecia. I'm sure this chapter will give you an idea of the changes. Normally I'm against the changing of character's stories, but I feel a lot more could have been done with their characters. 

This story is dedicated to Satashi, who got me into writing again. And also because he managed to re-write StrikerS so it was actually good.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is of course, copyright all it's non-yuri loving creators.

Caro's eyes widened as she saw Erio hit the ground. She didn't make it in time to give him a safe landing. His barrier jacked had dissolved before the fall, Strada returned to it's normal device form. He was just a normal boy, not a mage, when he hit the ground after falling all those stories high. She had failed as a support mage. 

A new feeling she had never felt before overtook her. Her eyes had crystalized with anger. The wind blew across her face as she stared at her opponent summoner. A pentagram insantly shaped below Caro, as she cryed out. The pentagram extended all around her, making Lutecia take a step back. 

"Voltaire...end her..."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nanoha walked down the halls of the medic branch of Section six. '_I almost wish these halls weren't as familiar as they are.'_ She had just returned from her mission only to find that her students were nearly crippled. Especially, team Lightning. _'Fate is going to kill me when she finds out about this...'_

Caro awoke to see Nanoha's familiar face, smiling down at her. Everything was a blur for her, it took her a few moments to recollect where and when she was, as well as why. She sat up, feeling back pain for the first time in her so-far short life, pushing herself up with her left arm. Until it gave out. Nanoha caught her before she fell off her own bed. Caro let out a small shriek. "...Thank you, Nanoha."

"Easy now, I said don't move so much." Nanoha looked at Caro, fighting to let a tear form in her eye. No girl should be hurt as bad as she had. "You're lucky Subaru got you back so quickly, if not you might be paralyzed for the rest of your life...just what were you thinking?"

Caro was about to answer, but she was at a loss for words. She couldn't remember a thing. "Where's Friedliche?"

"Shh...he's in the familiar care ward, he'll be all right. Now, tell me what happened." Nanoha said soothingly. She hated having to pry Caro for information in the hospital wing, but if Section Six was going to act, they had to know where to start. Nanoha definitely wasn't about to let whoever did this to her students get away with it.

Caro wanted to answer Nanoha, she really did. But she couldn't. "I'm sorry...Nanoha...I don't remember...how is everyone?" Nanoha flinched at the question.

"...Nanoha?" Caro looked up, not knowing her teacher to faulter.

Nanoha took a quick, but deep breath before answering the question. "I was hoping you could tell me what happened. Subaru has collapsed from exhaustion, and will probably be out of it for a week. Tia has a concussion, and can't seem to remember much about the event, let alone anything that's happened the past year or so...it took her a good thirty minutes to get my name right. Shamal said it could take one to three months for her to recover...I knew it would be bad to leave you guys here without me, Fate, Vita, Hayate, or Signum..." Nanoha trailed off, petting Caro's head. "We recovered another Lost Logia, but I don't think seeing you guys like this made it wor--"

"Erio." Caro interuptted. "You didn't say how Erio was." Nanoha stayed silent. "How is Erio?!" The shriek hurt Nanoha's ears. It wasn't loud, but that piercing question she just couldn't answer.

"I don't know, Caro. Erio has been captured." Nanoha said quietly. Caro lied down, staring blankly at the cieling. "I'd like to be alone now." Nanoha knew better then to test those waters. She stood up, and pulled the covers over Caro. "You'll return to duty in three weeks. Try and submit to me a report by then. Otherwise, you're ordered for rest in recovery. You'll be returned to quarters after 5 days of rest." Nanoha walked out, and closed the door behind her; leaning up against it. "I'm sorry, Caro-chan."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hayate walked down the long halls to the officer meeting room. And by officer meeting room, she meant where she gets criticized by everyone except Chrono and Carim. Some of the other big wigs would be there today and she had to give a report of everything since the JS incident.

"That face really doesn't suit you, Hayate." Yuuno said, appearing behind her, as she immediately had formed her barrier jacket, her staff at his neck. "Woahhh…someone's on edge."

Hayate took a deep breath, returning to her normal form. "Sorry…I told you not to scare me like that, ever since you've been toying with that movement magic you've been popping out of no where." Yuuno stepped out his vortex of the wall and stepped next to her. "So what are you doing here anyway, Yuuno?"

"Oh you know, stop by, say hi to you, Fate, Nanoha, see what's up, transfer to Section Six, same old, same old?" Yuuno said, as they walked down the corridor.

"Oh that's ni—transfer to section six? Under who's authority? How can the head of the infinite library just abandon his post like that?" Hayate questioned, looking at him. She hated when people went around her – and Yuuno, being a civilian collaborator, was best at that.

"Who else? Admiral Chrono's. And who said anything about me no longer being head of the infinite library?" Yuuno held up what appeared to be a pocket watch, with three small ports coming out of it. "Now that I've completed the encephalon hook up I can go retrieve information and relay it whenever need be. Now I don't have to be there all the time. Not that I didn't like being there, of course – but now I'll finally be able to go on digs and visit places without being hindered too much. However, I need to be here a little bit first. " Yuuno explained.

"Why's that?"

"You'll find out eventually." Yuuno said, as they entered into the officer's meeting room; a long marble table, with several chairs, and a projector at the front of the room.

Chrono placed his tea cup down upon there entering. "Special Investigations Officer Hayate Yagami, welcome. Chief Librarian Scrya, as well." Hayate saluted appropriately, entering the room and taking her seat. She looked around to see Chrono, Carim, two high ranking enforcers and a 5-star admiral. Chrono was only a 3-star.

"Lets get one thing straight, Scrya. You've been invited to this meeting based on your next job, if you should ever allow the information today be discussed with anyone not of the appropriate ranking, you will serve jail time." One of the Enforcers said with a not-so-nice tone. Yuuno saw Hayate's eyebrow flinch, if only for a moment. _'Strike one, it would seem…better play nice today.' _Yuuno thought.

"Of course, have I ever done anything to not help our law enforcement?" Yuuno asked, rhetorically. _'Of course not, atleast nothing you could know of you big lug, because I delete the all my tracks…' _Yuuno grinned.

Before the enforcer had a chance to respond, the 5-star admiral began speaking. "Take your seats, then. Let's begin this discussion." The holographic projector raised in the front of the room.

Hayate had gone through the earlier missions since Section Six's construction, relatively unhindered. She finally arrived at the crux of what they had all been here to talk about, the JS incident. Scenes of the incident began to appear to match what Hayate was saying.

"The Jail Scaglietti incident is a complicated one. As we have all read the reports, and the events leading up to the day of the Cradle's launch, I will skip over minor details." Video of Lutecia appeared on the screen. "As we all know, Instructor Nanoha, sub-commander Vita, myself, and Enforcer Fate managed to destroy the cradle and it's outer defenses. All of the combat cyborgs, with the exception of Forward Subaru and Lieutenant Ginga have been disabled."

Hayate took a breath. "And that brings us to our problem today. As you know, Forward Erio has been captured, and the base has been under constant attacks from an unknown summoner, and the combat mage, former Colonel Grangaitz. Callsign, Zest. They always attack when the officers are on missions, and never seem to be attacking anything in specific. Until recently, Sub-commander Vita, Sergeant Major Rein, First Lieutenant Signum, and the forwards would normally repel the attacks, however – with the chance to suppress a large amount of Lost Logia recently, she attacked at an opport---."

"And who allowed this section to be so poorly defended, Commander Yagami?" The enforcer questioned.

Hayate stopped. _'Breathe Hayate…'_ Yuuno and Chrono simultaneously messaged to her telepathically. "This sections main priority is to recover and research Lost Logia, Enforcer Jehuty."

"Please continue with your report, Commander Hayate." Chrono said, trying not to show any emotion.

"As I was…" Hayate continued. '_Strike Two' _ Yuuno noted. "This leads me to believe that either the hostiles have a very efficient spy method or they have an informant among us."

Before the other enforcer could take a shot at Hayate, Yuuno jumped in. "What do we know about the attackers, so far?"

"The summoner, Lutecia, was engaged during the JS incident by Section Six's forwards, Erio and Caro. She has four main summons – Garyuu, a melee summon of sorts, both small and large insects, as well as a larger beast named Hakutenou. All of which were encountered by forwards Erio and Caro. In their report, they mentioned that it seems the summoner was under control of an outside force, and Jail had promised her the return of her mother in exchange for relics. Erio and Caro were about to capture her, however, Zest recovered her and retreated. As we know, Jail could not possibly follow through with his promise considering the data presented by Investigator Acous " Hayate paused for a moment. "We currently do not know her motives, but all attacks have ceased since Erio has been captured. All I can assume is that he, and possibly Caro, were the intended targets."

"As a base commander you should never allow the capture of one of your subordinates." the enforcer exclaimed, slamming his hands on the long table.

Hayate walked over to the table, smiling.

'_Strike three…'_ Hayate slammed her fist into the table, the marble cracking, and collapsing down on the enforcer. "You shouldn't slam your hands on my table, general." Rage in her eyes, but maintaining a calm demeanor. The 5-star admiral stood.

"That is enough, commander. Your report was very informative. I will support a budget increase so this section can obtain the proper defenses it requires while officers are on important missions, as well as staff increase. Use it wisely; you may not be given another increase for quite some time if your platoon can not deal with a single summoner. This meeting is adjourned."

Hayate smiled. "Thank you, sir!", she said, saluting as everyone with the exception of Yuuno, Hayate, and Chrono left the room.

"Hayate?" Chrono questioned.

"Yes, Chrono?"

"A new marble table every meeting is not in your budget increase…you know this right?"

"Yes, Admiral." Hayate smiled, leaving the room.

"Scary." Chrono commented, looking at Yuuno.

"You think that's scary? Did I ever tell you about the time I forgot her birthday?" Yuuno got a sudden look of dread on his face. "I still have nightmares…"

Chrono shifter towards the exit of the room promptly. "Just don't forget why I put you here, find out who's leaking information to the outside."

"Of course, have I ever failed you before?" Yuuno smirked.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zest looked up at Erio, who was floating in a recovery chamber, attached to an oxygen machine. _'I wouldn't mind floating around in one of these from time to time...' _Zest thought, looking at the stitches torn up in his arm. "So why don't I get to take a dip in one of these, Lutecia?"

"We did not know they worked until now. Even so, I am not sure about its actual processes." LuLu stated, calmly and coldly.

"Oh…Wait, what?!?" Zest rushed over to the machine, where the girl had just been pressing random buttons. "You don't even know what this machine is doing!"

"I am capable of operating it." Lutecia said, looking up at him as cutely as her mellow expression could ever get. 

"On what grounds?" Zest spat back.

"…Allow me to operate it."

"You don't know what you're doing!"

"…so?"

Zest sighed and sat back on a nearby chair. _'I'll never understand women…'_ He thought. It is true, Lutecia was the only one who could break his rough outer demeanor. He had thought about taking her far away, and raising her as a daughter. He saw himself as her guardian, letting her do as she pleased. He was happy when Jail died; it meant that she was free.

"So Lutecia…why did you want to capture Erio?"

"I wanted to capture both him and Caro, however the circumstances did not allow." Lutecia added.

"Regardless, why?" He pressed on.

"I wanted to talk to them." Zest immediately felt his palm hit his face.

"Why would you attack section six repeatedly to do so, then?"

"I would be put in jail, otherwise, wouldn't I?" Lutecia answered matter-of-factly.

"You know they aren't all cold hearted people. Before my friend, Regius, died – I actually worked for the TSAB. If I hadn't been framed by those corrupted politicians, I might still be working for them today."

"What you say does not help." Lutecia responded.

"Which is normally why I keep quiet."

"Then let's keep it that way." Lutecia retorted, a hint of frustration in her voice.

"So why didn't you just ask instead of beating him up before you brought him here?" Zest advanced on, knowing he was already in deep waters.

"…."

"Well?"

"I don't…really know any other way than to fight…" Lutecia answered. Zest went silent after hearing this. He turned around, and clenched his fist. _'Lutecia, I have failed you…there is so much you need to learn.'_

"I'm going to fetch Agito – you can…use this machine as you please…just don't wind up castrating the poor kid." Zest said as he walked out of the room.

I don't think my changes were too out of place, considering Zest said before fighting Signum he wanted to "Save Lutecia and stop Scaglietti" To me it just seemed like a way to kill him off, which wasn't right. I no big fan of Zest's character, but I am of Lutecia's. I want to write about what might of happened if she wasn't captured that day. What would she do? How would she of escaped? I think taking care of Lutecia would give Zest a new reason to live, rather than live as a ghost over the past with the Regius. Anyway, that's the premise this story is taking so – feel free to shoot over a review. Tell me what you think, I haven't written in a long time.


	2. Sherlock Scrya

Still don't own Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha or any of its subsidiaries.

But oh if I did…

------------------------------------------------

Erio had just finished getting dressed. It seemed to be some sort of jail cell, but some how not. Sure, it had been containing him, but it had some nice furnishings, as well as a neat food dispenser. The food literally appeared in front of him after ordering it. This is good, because he had been eating all day. Spending two weeks in a recovery chamber did not work over well with the stomach. And then there was of course, his personal maid.

Lutecia entered with tea for both herself and Erio, placing his on the table. See, he had a game. His objective was to get her to say something every time she came in. "Why do you not try to escape anymore?" The girl asked, much to Erio's surprise. She had yet to ask him a question.

"Well I tried seven times already, my guardian taught me there's a limit to everything. Also, there's a way out of everything. Though, I think it'd be better to conserve my energy. So why don't you take away my weapon. Why are you trusting me? How do you know I won't kill you right here?" Erio's bombardment of questions forced a smile on Lutecia's face. Erio could have swore he heard her giggle a bit.

"Do you want to fight me?" Lutecia asked, the smile fading. "I will fight you, if you want."

Erio frowned at the request. "Why do you always want me to fight you? If you really want to, just attack me already." While he was enjoying the company and the meals, he was still captive.

Lutecia eyed up at him, forehead tilted toward the ground slightly. "I am trying to find a way not to fight, this time…this is what Zest told me to do." Lutecia said quietly, getting nervous.

Erio really felt like he was getting somewhere. The last week or so had been difficult. Normally Lutecia wouldn't say more than three words to him, one of them being fight, and would talk a lot colder to him.

'If I don't get her to open up or let me out today, I may never get another chance.' Erio thought. He met with her once a day, for maybe 30 seconds, this conversation had been going on a whole minute. This was his chance. "Do you try to solve all your problems through fighting?"

Lutecia stood up, and slowly backed towards the door, scared to answer his question. 'Talking like this…why did I inform him of Zest? Why am I –'

"Why are you keeping me here like this?" Erio finished her thought. Lutecia eyes widened, stumbling back.

**Sonic Move! **

Lutecia had been caught before hitting the ground. She looked up at Erio, smiling stupidly, taking his hand to regain her balance. "You…why did you do that."

"Well uh, it would be rude of me if I just let you hit the ground if I could something about it, right?" Erio responded. It would seem he did it right this time. He didn't land in a position cupping her breasts, like he had Caro when they first met. He let out a sigh of relief.

"…Thank you."

"Anytime!"

Lutecia felt herself turning red as she quickly left the room. Erio was going to call out and tell her to wait, but the words wouldn't come. "…Agh…" He said rubbing his head. "What a weird girl."

------------------------------------------------

Yuuno had gone through the records and daily logs of every member excluding Stars, Lightning, and the captains. He had been observing people through the walls day and night, always watching, sleeping an erratic schedule so he could watch all parts of the day at one point. He was starting to get frustrated.

"Never have I spent a whole week finding nothing relevant in even the infinite library." He said aloud to himself. He had to talk to iterate his thoughts at this point, since his mind was so tired. A knock came at his door. He welcomed any excuse to not shuffle through transport logs at this point. "Come in."

Nanoha, in her flight instructor uniform, walked in, also appearing slightly tired from her day. "You dirty little ferret. Was I the only one who didn't know you had been here a whole week. And you don't even stop by to say hi? I had to find out from Hayate at lunch that you were here. I felt so stupid in front of everyone. I blame you for this." She said, taking off her jacket, sitting on a couch across from his desk, flipping the television on.

Nanoha peered around the standard dormitory. It had Yuuno's desk, a couch, a television, a door entering in, and a balcony across the backside wall, as well as entries to a kitchen and a bathroom. "Mou, why didn't you ask to stay with me and Fate, either? Or Hayate even? You know that's a simple request."

"Are you done?" Yuuno asked, shuffling some papers away.

Nanoha stuck out her tongue at Yuuno.

"That's a yes then…in any event, Hayate was the only one who knew I was here aside from some higher level bureau members. After I had completed my mission I intended to spend an entire week bothering you guys. But as you can see, I'm quite tired." Yuuno sighed, looking at Nanoha's pouty face. "Sorry, you know how I get when I feel like I'm being attacked or can't figure something out. I'll pay you back, I promise." Yuuno said, sitting next to her, stealing the remote control, flipping the television off. "I just really can't figure something out."

"Jeez, Yuuno. What happened to you? You used to be so nice and shy even." Nanoha complained.

"Well, 10 years, 8 months, and 12 days of dealing with a militaristic employer will do that to you." Yuuno answered, matter-of-factly.

"You'll pay me back will you? Didn't you say that when you gave me this? You have yet to do that, I think." Nanoha said, holding up Raging Heart.

"Don't say that. You know I feel guilty to this day about involving you in this world. You should have been able to lead a perfectly normal life." Yuuno said, throwing his body back, sinking into the couch.

"And I tell you all the time, don't, 'cause we're friends. And friends don't let friends sleep on horrible couches and standard dorms. When's the last time you me and Fate all shared a bed?" Nanoha said, giggling slightly.

Yuuno felt his face get slightly warmer. He mentally cursed his natural male reactions. "When we were kids, and I think I'd like to leave it that way. Besides, Haya—" Yuuno felt Nanoha's face and forehead against his.

"Ohhh, so it's Hayate is ittttttt?" Nanoha said in an all-too-girly way.

"Your mockery of our language angers me." Yuuno said, pulling away from Nanoha and into the couch.

"Is that all that's been bothering you?"

"No…"

"Then what has?"

"Don't you listen to me when I talk? I just told you it's because I can't figure something out." Yuuno shot back, hating to repeat himself. "You never listen to me. Like when I told you to stay in my protection barrier back when we met the Wolkenritter! All you had to do was not leave it, but no, what do you do? Go and fire Starlight Breaker. Perfect case in point." Yuuno ranted on.

"Mou, you know I hate doing what others tell me to. It's the only reason I'm not a higher rank than Hayate right now." Nanoha looked up at Yuuno. "But don't turn this around on me, let me help you out."

"Oy, Nanoha. All I told you was I have a problem I can't figure out, how the heck are you going to help me solve the impossible, not knowing any details whatsoever, which I couldn't tell you if I wanted to."

"Well that's easy. If you've eliminated what's possible, than the impossible is a possibility. I learned that from an old book back on Earth." Nanoha said, pouty as usual.

Then it hit Yuuno. She was absolutely right. Up until now he had looked at everyone. Everyone except Nanoha, Fate, Hayate, the Wolkenritter, and their students. That means it had to be one of them. There was no other explanation.

Nanoha looked at Yuuno as the possibilities ran through his mind. When Yuuno realized where he was, he turned back to Nanoha, gratitude in his eyes.

"Silly face." Nanoha said slyly, smiling.

------------------------------------------------

"Old man!" Agito called, flying over to Zest.

"Hello Agito, what did you find out today?" Zest responded, as Agito took to flying over his shoulder, feeling slightly at home.

"It seems like everyone's back at base for a while, now. It would probably be wise to strike their hospital floor directly and quickly if Caro is the target. Our main opponents would be a guardian beast, named Zafira, and a mage named Shamal. With of course the standard support and base defenses." Agito relayed her information.

"Thank you, Agito, you're quite helpful." Zest complimented.

"Yeah, let's kick TSAB butt!" Agito said, punching into the air.

"Now, now. I've told you many times, they're not bad people. No one is really "evil", everyone just has their own objectives." Zest eyed Agito, learning from what Lutecia had said earlier that week. He really had two kids to take care of.

"But…you and Lulu are the only friends I've ever had. And also, the TSAB messed up my life. Why wouldn't you want to fight with them."

"Hey. You wouldn't even have an informant if they were all that way, and you know it."

"She's different."

"Everyone is different, Agito."

"So why do you support Lulu's raids if you're against it so much?" Agito asked, confused at this point.

"'cause, I trust those damned kids to get through to her what I can't." Zest stopped in mid air. "You're burning and alive Agito. When we combine I can feel life again. But when it comes down to it, I'm just a ghost, watching the next generation go on."

"Ahh, don't embarrass me like that, old man…" Agito trailed off as they resumed their trip back to base.

------------------------------------------------

Fate was pissed. She was twenty minutes late.

**Twenty minutes late.**

Fate spent two hours preparing this dinner for her and Nanoha. The stir fried peppers were already cold at this point.

Fate put paper towels over the food (as to not attracted any bugs) and let it sit. If that's the way she wanted to play fine. Best friends since they were nine, but can't even make a dinner date, of course.

'She can be so flaky some times.' Was all Fate could think, taking off her apron, turning off the hydrogen heaters keeping her prime rib and vegetables warm.

But it was okay. She had a psychologist for times like this. The perfect therapist for when Nanoha got flaky, the paperwork got to her, or she had pent up rage about her mother. This therapist was named Bardiche. The therapy was dueling Signum.

"Call Signum." Fate said slightly annoyed as Bardiche brought up a holographic monitor. The phone rang. Slightly more annoyed. The phone rang twice more. Very annoyed. Eventually Signum popped up on the screen. Except it wasn't her. It was a programmed message machine.

---Message Start

"Greetings, this is Signum…" Noises were heard behind the message. "You damned mutt!" Vita shouted chasing Zafira across the living room of Hayate's old house.

"If you would please leave a message…" Signum continued, a hint of frustration in her voice.

"I told you it was my hamburger! You were the one who ate it weren't you!" Vita chased on, Graf Eisen forming behind the main focus of message camera.

"I told you I did not!" Zafira said, hoping onto the couch, and then hiding behind Hayate, who was still in her wheelchair at the time.

"I ATE IT ALRIGHT! I'M TRYING TO MAKE A MESSAGE HERE!" Signum shouted behind her. Fate heard Levantine shout "_Explosion!"_ as the message timer ran out.

---Message End

Fate had nearly begun talking because she had never seen Signum's message. As far as she knew Signum picked up 100 percent of the time.

'Great…just great.' Fate twitched.

**Arc Saber. **

------------------------------------------------

…So I haven't gotten any reviews for this story yet. Sorta hopin' someone does, kinda losing incentive to continue with it. Maybe I should list pairings in the summary? Anyway, please leave a review. I think this chapter came together better than the first. -- Komidol.


	3. A Granted Desire

I don't own Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. If I did it might go something like this…

--------------------------------

Signum had pinned Agito with her foot. Levantine was in full bow form with an arrow knocked; ready to release an arrow which was currently pointed at Agito's neck. The head of the arrow was probably bigger than Agito herself.

"You're under arrest for the disruption of the government property. Your rights are limited in this situation and will be explained upon the completion of your captu—" Signum was interrupted.

"Just kill me already, will yah!?" Agito spat back, not even knowing half the words Signum just said.

"I have no desire to end your life. Just reprimand you for the actions you've caused. You have yet to kill anyone, so your sentence may be light." Signum said, holding her bow firm, hair hanging down, until the enemy surrendered.

"Maybe 'cause I wasn't trying to kill anyone! Do your mages ever get killed? Huh?! While you all are firin' lethal bullets at us, we're just tryin' to help Lutecia! You damn TSAB don't understand, not at all. Do you know what it's like to want to help a friend?"

"…" Signum released the pull on her arrow. The words rang in her head, over and over again. _Do you know what it's like to want to help a friend?_

Agito was still pinned, but felt a little better. That arrow was scary. "I just want to take Caro and Erio...neither will be harmed…we just wanna to talk to them. All Lutecia wants is a friend! I can see the loneliness in her eyes." Agito quickly went on.

It was a long pause before Agito felt herself able to move again. "…go" Signum said, quietly.

"…Go!" She shouted at the questioningly looking Agito. "Meet me back here next week; cease your attack until then. Leave!" Signum shouted at Agito, going to fight some of the insects that Lutecia had summoned as a make shift shield against the TSAB reinforcements.

**That was two months ago. **

"So did you explain to her Erio is fine?" Zest asked Agito.

"Yeah, she looked happy. But she said she can't help out anymore. Not with Caro." Agito added.

"Can you blame her? She's really putting her neck out for us, and you, and we do not really know why. This little charade wouldn't be going on as long as it has without her. She's a good person, but almost chaotically. She really does not belong in the military." Agito pondered Zest's words. "And even then, after what happened with that other summoner girl, I can't believe that power…"

--------------------------------------------

Caro awoke for the first time in her own bed. Even if it was the standard military dorm bedroom, it felt a whole lot more like home than the hospital bed. She was happy she was able to plead Shamal out of staying into the hospital wing for another week. Still, she'd much rather be sleeping in hay stack on the outskirts like she did when she was in the environmental division. She figured she would return there soon, having heard rumors that section six might either be growing or ending sometime soon. The girl stood up and gazed at the sun.

Caro loved mornings.

It meant a new day, a new awakening. She dressed out of her pajamas and made he bed. The sheets were white and pink with an outline of blue. She absolutely loved those colors. It hurt a little to move so much, but she was optimistic. After all, she got to go pick up Friedliche today. No summoner should ever go more than a week without seeing her favorite summon.

Caro began to put on her robes, and her cloak. She was glad she was off duty; the uniform had been a little annoying to wear. She liked more loose clothes, tight ones made her feel all choked up. She liked the breeze, and how much more it meant when she got a hug. She finished getting dressed, fastened the ribbon on the front side of her clothes, and began to brush her hair with a hand-made brush, weaved with wool and spikes made of miscellaneous fangs to keep her hair straight.

All gifts, of course.

'Today is going to be a great day!' Caro cheerfully thought. 'First I get to eat breakfast and train with Subaru, then I get to wash up and eat lunch with Fate, and I get to spend the rest of the day with Friedliche!'

--------------------------------------------

The sun hit Lutecia's face as she ruffled in the bed. Why was she up? She never got up before 4pm, and certainly not on a Sunday. Suddenly she heard a snuffling sound coming from Erio's room. That's why she was up. Noise.

Lutecia was not a morning person.

Now she was tired and annoyed. That damned sound wouldn't stop. That sound, it was driving her crazy…she had no word for it; she had never heard it before. Almost like when Agito was complaining but somehow worse. Lutecia always slept naked, and sat up amidst with her purple and black sheets. You wouldn't think a hiding criminal would care about their bed spread, but she did. Black and purple were always her favorite colors. It wasn't a gothic thing or anything, just that always being up at night it felt easier on her eyes. She rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes, and proceeded to get dressed.

Lutecia finished getting dressed and looked over to her digital clock on a small night stand. Most of the room consisted of her bed, but there were some things around that made it feel like hers. A large mirror, for one. You see, before Jail died, she was never was able to, or was too obsessed, to keep personal belongings. She wound up stealing from a Midchildan auction a large box and sorted through and kept the things she liked. She loved the mirror. She had never actually seen herself before. She was fascinated with the idea. Now, she took at least fifteen minutes every morning(read: late afternoon) to prepare her appearance. She had a jeweled brush which she used to keep her hair straight as well.

All stolen, of course.

Lutecia didn't really understand the concept of economy, though. Nor did she care for it. People have to fend for themselves, and she didn't seem to be much of an exception. Lutecia fastened her choker and her black hair ribbons. She couldn't say quite why she liked them, but they made her feel a little bit more secure. Without her accessories and tight clothing she felt slightly more vulnerable. Getting frustrated with her hair she dropped her brush to fasten the bow, hearing the noise from Erio's room stop. 'How annoying.' She couldn't help but think.

She proceeded down the halls of the make-shift 'home' they had set up out of ancient materials. The ancients seemed to like the gold color in the past, but Lutecia still hadn't taken the time to paint anything. Maybe because she figured she would either be arrested or leave this place soon. However, there was an abundant amount of wild animals present on the outside, which she slaughtered for food. Fresh meat tasted a lot better than what the food replications had to offer.

Erio heard the knock on his door, right before Lutecia entered. He had awoken to the sound of a crash, only to find his pillow soaked in tears.

'Crying in your sleep, huh, Erio? Wouldn't Vita be pissed at you now. Come on, I know I'm stronger than that...' A myriad of thoughts ran through his mind as he made his bed. Why he wasn't strong enough to break through the barrier. How much he missed Fate and Caro. How worthless to the TSAB he happened to be at the moment. And her, the girl who just poked her head in his door. His twistedly nice and misguided capturer.

"What noise were you making earlier? You appear as if you have just awoken. It was rather annoying." Lutecia said in her traditionally stale voice.

Erio realized she must have heard him whining away in his sleep, and instantly became angry and somewhat embarrassed. "Was it any more annoying than when I tried destroying this cell when I first got here?" Erio shot back. While he did like the girl, being here was really starting to frustrate him. "Look, I don't know what you're trying to accomplish by keeping me here, but if you could let me leave now, I'd appreciate it."

Lutecia stared at the boy. 'Why is he like this, today? Normally he's very…calming. Very nice, to a fault…' She asked the question after what seemed like an awkward silence to Erio. "Why are you acting this way?"

Erio immediately got angry at the question, raising his voice. "Because no matter how hard I try to get out of this place you're just going to keep me for however long you want. I don't have any freedom, I can't see my friends, and I'm not strong enough to even get out of here by myself."

Lutecia felt anger for the first time since before Jail died. "You…all your attempts at talking to me, have merely just been an excuse to leave this place…"

"No…you don't understand…it's just, if you wanted to talk to me, why didn't you just ask, why do I have to be here?"

"If…if I let you go, you would just leave me, wouldn't you?" Lutecia said, trying to stop a tear from forming in her eye, maintaining her angry posture.

"…" Erio couldn't lie. "You could just come talk to me."

"And get arrested?" Lutecia fumed.

"Arrestment merely leads to detainment; we don't kill anyone for their crimes. And you're doing the same thing, just detaining me. How can you force something on someone you wouldn't want yourself?"

Lutecia's eyes pierced his, knowing he was right…truth be told, she didn't want to keep him here for so long, but she was scared. Scared for him. "If I let you go…you'll just go back to that dragon summoner girl."

"And what does she have anything to with this!?" Erio said, getting defensive immediately.

Lutecia's eyes widened, "You don't know what she did to you?"

"…What do you mean what she did to me?"

"Before you arrived here, during my attack."

Erio knew he had a slight amnesia about the mission he was harmed in before his capture, but he knew Caro would never harm him. "What the heck are you talking about?"

Lutecia went silent for a bit. "…I…I do not think you would believe me if I told you…but, if you want to leave so bad..." The orb on Lutecia's glove lit a deep purple. "I will no longer stop you."

Erio's mouth gaped slightly at the sudden action by the girl. "…wh…Why?" he asked, not understanding.

"I should not do something to someone which I do not wish to be done to me. You and Caro taught me that. However, I recommend you try to remember what she did before you go back there so easily." Lutecia turned her back to Erio, leaving the room. 'Damnit…I'm starting to make that noise too…' Lutecia thought, she was about to wipe the tear from her eyes, but she felt a grip from behind her, and around her stomach. "…Erio?"

"I'm sorry…I yelled. You don't have to cry…I don't have to leave yet." Erio had never had to do anything like this before, he felt his voice breaking. "I…I hate it when people cry, so I won't leave you to be alone…I used to be alone…" Erio paused, hugging her, wondering if this is how Fate felt when she took him in. "I…" Lutecia turned, placing her palms and forehead on his chest and began crying.

'After all that…she's really a good person.' Erio thought, embracing her gently.

--------------------------------------

Caro was surprised at how much Subaru could eat.

"Whas wchich yuu?" Subaru finished chewing the meat in her mouth.

"Eheheh…meat in the morning?" Caro laughed nervously.

"Can't help it, I love protein. It's the nutrient my cybernetics can convert the best. Also I've been sleepin' all week! Those machines may give me a nice energy supply, but nothing can satisfy me like this." Subaru continued to devour her food. "You want some; you only got a little bit."

"Ah, no…I'm quite alright. I can't help it when I think a wild animal actually died so I could eat. Even if it is military rations and it'll never change…I don't want to partake in that."

"Quite noble of yah, I gotta say…" Subaru paused looking at her food. She never really thought about it before.

"…Subaru?"

"…"

"…Are you alright?" Caro innocently questioned.

Subaru decided to stop thinking and continue devouring her food. That's what she was best at. "Ah well, it's no big deal, circle of life and all that." The munching resumed.

Caro sighed and let Subaru finish her fourth food ration. "So, I need to keep my body up and in shape, but I haven't done any training without Erio since I got here, and I don't have Friedliche either."

"Well you know protection spells and stuff right, I can help you work on those." Subaru stopped and downed half a pitcher of water.

Caro began eating her own food, powdered eggs and an orange. She had never been the gluttonous type, always just tried to eat whatever she could. "I guess that's good, where should we go?"

Subaru began to choke on her food, and pointed past Caro. Caro looked at her strangle around and figured it was just some weird eating ritual.

"Na…Na…"

Well if she could talk she could breathe. "Uh, anyway…I want to be able to be up to tip top shape as soon as the rescue mission goes into effect."

**Restrict Lock**

The mess hall all turned to them the moment Raging Heart's spell was heard. "Then maybe you should learn how to follow the orders of your superiors." Nanoha stood above Caro, smiling. There was something demonic in that smile. Caro felt herself being grabbed immediately and slung over Nanoha's shoulder, contained by the pink weaves of energy.

"Silly, silly subordinate." Caro began to whine on Nanoha's shoulders, punching around, screaming to be put down. "You should stop that Caro. Do you **really** want to upset me?" The entire mess hall went silent.

Hayate chose that moment to walk in. Subaru stood and saluted "Chief Investigator in the hall!"

The entire mess hall stood instantly, saluted Hayate, with the exception of Nanoha and of course, Caro. "Ma'am!" They all shouted. It was more of a cry for help than anything else.

No one said a word as Nanoha cheerfully carried Caro out of the mess hall. "Heya Hayate! Just got a little problem student here."

Hayate eyed Nanoha "What…did you do?"

"Nothing, I just came to get my student, Prvt. Second Class La Rushie." Nanoha answered, innocently.

"Captain?" Hayate asked.

"Yes, Lt. Colonel?" Nanoha found it funny when they addressed each other by rank.

"_Stop scaring my section!_" Hayate shouted.

---------------------------------------

Yuuno looked at his list. He had eliminated Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate. They were present so often everywhere at the section and had limited free time. There was no way the informant could be one of them. Also, he would like to think his best friends weren't betraying each other. The TSAB have implemented a tracking device on Subaru ever since the JS incident, so it was impossible to be her. Teana was still in recovery and Yuuno doubted the attackers would harm their own informant without a reason.

Though it was still possible, if she knew something. He kept Teana as a possibility.

Considering the personal history between Caro and Erio, he doubted a girl as young and innocent as Caro would try to harm Erio in some way. But still a possibility. Also, at one point Caro had direct contact with the attacker.

That left Teana and Caro on the low possibility list. All that's left now is the Wolkenritter's records. Yuuno sipped some of his earl grey tea. It was quite a tiring task, going through hours of logs from each member in section six. Shamal was on twenty-four alert in the hospital wing, and Zafira guarded her. For it to be one of them was also nearly impossible. This left Vita and Signum. Vita was constantly on missions in far away places and Signum was the primary base defender.

So, that leaves Teana, Caro, Signum, and Vita. Teana and Caro have far too low of a ranking or ability to ever know the movement patterns of everyone without leaving some sort of trace behind, so it would be illogical to assume, also considering the above mentioned evidence, that it was one of them.

This left Vita and Signum. Yuuno sat back in his chair, and sighed. How could he honestly spy on two of his better friends, let alone assume they've committed crime. Seriously, though, how _could_ he? Not even just from an emotional standpoint but with the senses on those two he wasn't sure if he could watch over them without being noticed.

'I'm still not perfect with my movement magic.' Yuuno thought, scratching his head. 'Even if I had it perfected there's still a minor chance of detection, not that I'm anywhere close. And if I am detected what would I say. Heya Signum! I was just watching you change and…' Yuuno didn't want to begin to imagine the pain that would ensue. At least he had a pretty good idea on who it was. If it was Vita she was using her missions as an excuse to communicate. If it was Signum it'd be easy to learn about the base defenses.

'I can't ignore the possibility it's one of them. Since no one has died in the recent attacks, it very well could be.' Yuuno pulled out the data chips containing the camera views of the recent fights. 'Maybe if I understand my attacker and this situation a little better…it would be unwise to jump to conclusions. Also it'd probably be better for my health.' Yuuno eyed through all the battles, looking for some sort of communication from the enemy. 'I'd rather do this than spy on my friends.'

Yuuno's time wore thin, though. The time for him to submit his report was wearing thin, and he had sought to solve the entire ordeal rather than incriminate Vita and Signum.

------------------------------------------------

Caro had been unofficially confined to quarters until her meeting with Fate this afternoon. Though Nanoha would never actually order it unless it was something serious, Caro could tell she didn't want her up and about. Caro normally enjoyed free time, but that was only because she had Friedliche. This was just plain boring. She was a summoner; that was for sure. She figured most people spent time like this reading or watching some sort of media, but she hated both. For her relaxing was running out and about. Maybe not necessarily training with Subaru; but at least taking some time out to enjoy the fresh air. The television bored her to death and she couldn't read that well, considering her origins. She figured she should practice her literacy skills, now that she did have the chance, but her hands were what hurt the most. Caro plopped onto her bed and stared at her ceiling. She took her glove off and stared at her hands.

The place on the back of her hand where the orb normally resided was completely burned, almost disgustingly. She wondered how she managed to overdue it so much.

'Just what happened that day?' She pondered. One thought led to another as she began to daydream of the good times out in the environmental squad.

Her thoughts broke when she heard the door open. Caro pushed herself up and saw Fate standing there in uniform. 'Afternoon already? Was I really out of it that long? I must have been…Fate never would come early, she never has any spare time.' Caro thought as she sat up, and welcomed Fate. It had been too long.

"Caro…I'm sorry I could not visit you in the hospital." Fate apologize, hugging Caro. "Mou, you…learn to keep this bow fastened." Fate said tightening the bow on Caro's chest. It had become a ritual between the two. The bow was actually a gift from Fate. Caro loved the way it looked but could never quite make it perfect like Fate could.

Caro returned Fate's hug and stood up. "It's fine, I understand you're busy." Caro grabbed her things. "Where are we going this afternoon anyway?"

"I was figuring the mess hall, but I heard what happened this morning…I suppose you wouldn't want to go there." Fate stood over Caro, as she got ready. She had really grown in these last couple years. Fate knew three things about Caro at this point.

1) She was terrified about what might happen to Erio.

2) She wanted to see Friedliche, bad, by now.

3) She was embarrassed and probably a bit scared to talk to Nanoha.

Though, there she was, acting as if nothing had happened. She used to be a bit of a cry baby. She almost preferred those days, because than Fate could easily figure out was wrong. If she hadn't known Caro for so long or what happened this morning she would swear she was fine, outside of some of the scratches on her body. "Hello…Fate?" Caro snapped her fingers at the blonde's face.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about how much you've grown." Fate admitted.

"Well, I'm glad you were there for me when it counted, but you don't have to go all goo-goo when we're together, anymore. I appreciate it and all, but really!" Caro stomped her foot on the ground.

Fate giggled a bit. "You still get a little pouty when things are bothering you. Whenever you're not 100 percent cheerful anyone could tell something was wrong with you." Fate lied, anyone would think she was a normal girl the way she was. But that wasn't Caro, and Fate wanted to encourage Caro to be Caro. Unless…

"Oh my, that innocence isn't fading with your age is it? Should I knock before I come in now?" Fate held her face, embarrassed. Though, Fate's embarrassment was only about quintillionth of Caro's embarrassment when the question came.

Caro turned a healthy shade of red. "I don't think about things like that!"

Fate got a new look of determination on her face, grabbing Caro's hand. "Now Caro, if you have any questions, you know you can always ask me or Nanoha, we'll be there for you."

'No, no, no! It's not suppose to be like this, we were just suppose to go to lunch and talk about mindless stuff and catch up…why Kami, why?' Caro thought, letting out a whine.

-------------------------------------------

Agito and Zest both stared at Lutecia and Erio as they worked together outside to set up a camp of sorts. Neither of them had seen Lutecia smile and be cheerful before. She was still a bit silent, and her voice still stoic. But there was something in the way she moved that just screamed happy.

It was downright creepy.

Agito was about to ask, but Zest held her back. "It might be better to let things take their course." Zest whispered in the young pixie-sized girl's ear.

But Agito couldn't quite accept that. Seeing the two this way was…intolerable.

Erio began taking the slices of Caribou and ran a stick through it, turning it over the campfire at varied lengths. Zest took the opportunity to approach him. "Nice to meet you. You can call me Zest. And this is our friend Agito. We're...the closest thing you could consider to be Lutecia's family." Zest said, holding his hand out to Erio.

Erio put the branch-sized twig holding the good in his left hand and shook with his right. "Oh, yes I've heard of you from Lutecia. I'm Erio. Erio Mondial! I hope you don't mind if I stay here for a little bit." Of course Zest already knew his name and it was up to Lutecia who stayed and who went, but keeping up formalities never really hurt anyone.

"Well, if you're going to cook, I have no qualms about it whatsoever." Zest looked around him. The two had already set up a campfire, and were preparing up the recently killed caribou. Lutecia had sliced it up with a small katar consisting of a black plasmatic energy. Zest looked at Lutecia, covered in blood, cheerfully tearing through the caribou guts.

It was adorable.

"You seem to be very in depth in your cooking. I learned how to cook enough to survive, but you seem to be very specific. Where did a young lad such as yourself learn how to cook so well?"

"Well…my guardian was often out on mission and when we got an opportunity to spend time with each other I didn't pester her to cook. I was never a big fan of military food, or at least I'm not anymore. Two years of that stuff will drive anyone insane…"

"I know." Zest firmly commented.

"Yeah, anyway, I never had much money to go out and buy food and I never learned how to use the Midchildan tools to cook. So I learned how to hunt and cook on my own…damn, the fire went out again." Erio kept trying to slam two flint stones together to regain his spark.

"It's useless to do it like that!" Agito flew over to the campfire and held her palms out. A small bolt of fire reacted in the oxygen to the air and lit over the fire.

"Wow! That was neat! Thank you!" Erio had never seen fire magic before.

Agito got a small blush across her face, and the campfire began to roar and eventually burn outside of the stones.

"Ack, ack! Too much! Agito! Stop it!" Erio said trying to wave Strada over the fire to calm it.

"Heheh…sorry." Agito looked down and returned to her place at Zest's shoulder, embarrassed. But Zest had paid no attention to the little event. He only took notice to the brief smile that had broke across Lutecia's face. The raid could wait for this week.

------------------------------------

After a long draining day of looking for training bras to no avail, Caro leaned against Fate as they walked back to the base wondering how her perfect day ended up like this. Regardless of how it went, Fate was still there though – and that was what was important. Though how she spent her limited time did piss her off a little bit, she realized Fate was just being herself. Caring and determined to a fault.

She really didn't need a bra though!

Fate looked down at the pink hair girl who was too lazy to support herself, leaning against her waste as they walked back to base. Fate in some ways wanted to tell her to stand up for herself, and in some ways really enjoyed the leaning weight of the girl who relied on her. She supposed it was her fault Caro had wound up this way. But she in no way felt bad that she had taught Caro to rely on others and be a caring person. Though she couldn't resist feeling a little lonely…Erio was normally leaning against her other side on days like this.

Fate in part did want to go out and search for him. Yet somehow, she had this feeling that told her Erio was perfectly fine. While she was not particularly pleased about what happened, from what she saw on the Section Six recordings of the attack he was still alive. Maybe a little broken, but still alive.

They both had decided to stop at a small Earth-influenced restaurant. It turned out, even though Earth was an unadministered planet, it had huge influences of culture in Midchilda. In fact, almost 7 percent of the TSAB consisted of people originating from Earth. This was more than any other percentage of people, other than the 62 percent that originated from Midchilda itself. The remaining percentage was made up of people from thousands of worlds and dimensions.

Italian food was something the two commonly agreed on eating. Since most of it was bread, cheese, sauces, noodles, or assorted carbohydrate sources of food Caro was fine since she could get something without meat. Fate just flat out loved most Italian food. Their food came out after a short wait.

Fate looked at the Sicilian slice of pizza in front of her in joy. She picked it up, and let her tongue dangle underneath the cheese, suck up the sauce, until she retracted it and gnawed into the bread. She felt her saliva break it down giving her the taste she desired so. Fate was in love.

As many times as Caro had seen this she still thought it was mildly entertaining. 'Fate always had such an intricate way of eating her food.' She thought, poking a fork into her cheese-stuffed shells.

Fate suddenly inhaled the rest of the slice and began on her next.

Caro smiled weakly. 'Unless she's hungry I guess. What is with people and not chewing their food!'

Seeing the look on Caro's face, Fate paused her intake for a moment. "Sorry to be a little rude, Caro. I'm just starving. I spent all last night making dinner for me and Nanoha, only to not eat it. I was so angry I just slept it off and wound up not waking up until a little bit before I had come to get you. I haven't eaten in a little over a day. Mou, she really pissed me off. I wish I woke up a little when she came home so I could toss her out of the bed and onto the couch! Can you believe her? Standing me up like that!" Fate resumed eating again.

Caro put part of a stuffed shell in her mouth and bit off the first half of it, poking her small tongue into it, savoring the cheese. After finishing with that one she looked back up to Fate, who had already eaten half her pizza. "You only get talkative and chatty when it comes to Nanoha. Normally you stay…not stoic, but quieter and have a softer voice than most. Why is that?...Come to think of it, I've known you two have always been friends, but also that you two fought a long time ago. You never told me how you became friends." Fate immediately stopped eating when she heard the word "fought".

Caro realized instantly she hit a soft spot she should not have. She looked at Fate's eyes in that moment. It wasn't hate, or anger, but for some reason she felt like it was; or maybe worse. Regret, maybe?

"Caro. In the past, when I was little younger than you are now, I did things I shouldn't have. I was forgiven on grounds that there were things I couldn't possibly of known, that I was being manipulated, and I got where I am today through that comfort. But…in my heart, I know I was doing those things because I wanted to. Up until the very last moment I was willing to betray my now best friend for a belief that held no value. Don't ever, ever, subject yourself to control like that and always value what your friends have to say. Can you promise me that?" Fate had spoken slowly, but not softly.

Caro had never heard a more serious tone in her life, from anyone. She wasn't quite sure how to answer. In some ways she wanted to know more, that she couldn't make a promise she wasn't sure she could keep. "If I say yes, can you tell me one day what happened?"

Fate eyed Caro. She was a little naïve about the matter, but it was good that a purity like that existed. "Caro. When you realize you made a mistake, you can never take it back. They will change how people view you for your entire life. In recent memory I can think of a few people who have made big mistakes. I have, and was probably the first to. All the Wolkenritter have. Then Hayate did. Vita made a bigger mistake once, one I almost didn't forgive her for. Nanoha probably made the most selfish mistake out of all of us. A big part of life is listening to your friends so you don't make a mistake when they see it, and to stop your friends from making mistakes. Regardless, they will happen. They result from the best and worst of our personality. You need to realize no one is truly evil. Even that bastard Jail thought he was doing the best he could to help the world. That resulted from the ambitious part of his personality, which would normally be good, but he went too far. And even though I hated him for the crimes he committed, it was not blind hate. Because someone taught me once that would make me just as bad as every villain I've ever put away. Everyone has different values that they're willing to fight for, do you understand Caro?" Fate kept an eye on Caro during her mini-lecture.

"What do you mean…there is no evil…" Caro didn't quite understand. "Isn't the reason we're here to stop people from doing bad things at all costs?"

"Caro, what about the thief who steals to feed his poor family?" Fate questioned, giving her the classic example.

"…" Caro looked down at her food, without a good response.

Fate put a smile on her face. "I'm sorry, Caro. Maybe you weren't ready for that. Just stay the way you are, okay? Caro is Caro. I'm sure nothing like that will happen to you for a long time."

"…right." Caro played with her food. She felt like she almost let Fate down.

"Hey don't give me that! Let's go pick up Friedliche! I'm sure he's healed by now. Especially since you're up to speed, his healing should have sped up a little faster. We can pick him up early." Fate called the waiter over and had the rest of their food packed.

It took some time but the two eventually got back to the base. After dropping off the food Caro practically ran through the medical branches wing to the familiar and summon care ward. Even though summons were normally stored away in their respective realms, one summon always resided in the mortal realm with their soul bonded mate. Caro slid her ID card as the door to the ward opened and she finally saw Friedliche again, playing with puppy-form Arf. Almost instantly however, Friedliche stopped. Friedliche turned his head to Caro.

Caro felt her heart skip a beat. Friedliche had looked at her with malice. By the time Fate had arrived all she saw was Caro on her knees, staring lifelessly at Friedliche. Neither had made a sound. Caro passed out on the ground, barely caught by Fate.

"Caro? Caro! What's wrong?" Fate checked her vitals, feeling a heart beat and her breathing, but she just wouldn't move. "Arf? What happened to Caro?"

Arf looked at Friedliche, who had turned her back to Caro. Friedliche passed out onto the ground shortly after.

------------------------------------

That chapter was quite a doozy. The next chapter is going to wrap this story up and then I'm going to return to "Don't Leave Us", which events are brought up a lot in this chapter. A prequel, if you will, but I've already written chapter one. I think this is my best chapter for this story yet. I wasn't very proud of the first chapter, but I think each one is getting better as it goes on. Don't worry; I'll try to wrap everything up! No loose ends. So please leave me a review, it's really my only incentive to keep writing.

Komidol


	4. Rough Mornings Fix

I still don't own Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. But I do own all 3 Blue Eyes White Dragons! Oh yes, I went there. A yu-gi-oh reference.

Keep crying.

--

Erio rustled in his sleeping bag. The stars were out, calm as ever, and he had been in good company before he passed away into unconsciousness. The embers of the campfire cackled ever so lightly. But despite the beautiful atmosphere, the troubled boy could not sleep. In his mind he thought about what Lutecia had told him…

"You don't know what she did to you?" The face Lutecia made in that moment flashed in his mind over and over. Her eyes wide, her face with painted with concern – and care. Never had he seen that out of her. He wasn't sure anyone had.

Nor was he sure of very much at this point. 'How can I get Lutecia out of this mess?...How can I get _me_ out of this mess? I'm probably going to be court marshaled on my return…what should I do, just walk in the door…jeez.' Erio wasn't even sure if he was awake anymore.

Lutecia's face faded before him, as he felt himself falling. His body felt fine, but he remembered a tremendous pain in his back, as if hitting cement ground. Erio glanced up to see an incredibly large being – he knew instantly it was Voltaire. Only the black dragon could be that large.

That's when it happened. Erio saw the whole event through bloody eyes; he had barely been awake at that point. Voltaire charged its massive beams to strike Lutecia, but had been tackled by Hakentenou at the last moment. The unguided beam began to destroy buildings, nearing him.

That ear shattering cry Lutecia had made in that moment, how could he forget?

Erio's sight faded as he saw some of Lutecia's insects get obliterated in an attempt to slow the powerful beam down…yet it had been of little use.

And that's when he saw them. Those silver scales standing over him, protecting his body. The heat of the struggle between the blast and Friedliche's fire was almost incinerating him. And then it stopped. The dragon had shrunk to a small form, losing unconsciousness on top of him. The mere weight of Friedliche on top of him was enough to push the last conscious breath Erio had out of him.

Erio felt the sweat on his back as he awoke. His first instinct was to jump awake, but he managed to stop himself when he realized his surroundings.

A perfect starlit night had befallen him; the calm breeze swaying around his red hair. A comfortable sleeping bag and…

'Lutecia?' He thought, seeing the unclothed purple haired girl sleeping beside him. The boy was shocked and slowly laid back down as not to awake the purple haired girl.

'What I just saw…was it true? I could ask Lutecia…' He looked beside him to see the girl struggling herself. Most likely much quieter than he was in his sleep, but still he could hear her voice…

"Protect…protect…" Lutecia's eyes tried to shut more, her head swaying from side to side. Erio watched her, not sure what to do. He knew he himself could not control himself in his sleep, and hated when someone brought it up. Erio slinked down back into the sleeping bag next to the girl, and rested his forehead against hers. Almost that instant she settled down. Infact, he felt a little more calm himself knowing there was someone beside him.

'I'll live my life one day at a time…I may never get this chance to be with my friend ever again. Lutecia is my friend.' The thought alone was enough to let him drift back into unconsciousness.

--

Nanoha, Fate, Vita, and Signum sat in the command room. Fate draped her head back, letting her crimson eyes stare at the bright lights in an attempt to wake herself up, remembering her morning.

--

The alarm clock went off at seven-thirty-one. "Bardiche, reset timer – fifteen minutes."

"_**Yes, si--." **_

"Bardiche, user set Nanoha Takamachi, ignore Fate's request." Nanoha muffled through her covers.

"_**Resetting, si--"**_

"Bardiche, override audio authentication Testarossa6764."

"_**Engaging override, setting alar-"**_

"Bardiche, emergency user shutdo--" Nanoha's voice stops as a blanket gets thrown angrily over her.

"Nanoha, I gave you the power to use the emergency shutdown incase my mind has been taken over, not so you can keep me from sleeping in fifteen minutes!"

Fate's shout must have been heard all the way down the officer dormitory hall.

"Well, I don't want to hear your alarm go off every ten minutes for an hour until you have to leave without eating or _taking a shower_." Nanoha muffles, sitting up.

"You...you want to talk to me about hygiene? You wear the same uniform 2-3 days in a row!" Fate continued with her loud voice.

"Why...why do you have to be so loud in the morning!" Nanoha ended her sentence with a shout of her own.

You could say the two best friends were officially in an argument.

"Because you don't listen to me! We've been through this thousands of times! Just let me wake up in the morning the way I want to!"

"You developed this horrible habit of resetting your alarm constantly in high school, now the sound of the alarm just makes you tired!"

"Don't try to psychoanalyze me! You're the messed up one!"

"Me? I'm sorry, I don't have the horrible dark past. I'm the normal one."

"Normal? You're so damned innocent it's disgusting. Yuuno's been at your side forever, don't you want to get laid!?"

"Excuse me for valuing my virginity, at least I'm not attracted **to my BROTHER**!"

"As much as I would _love_ to hear this argument continue, we do have a meeting in half an hour. You may not approve of Nanoha's methods, but you are awake now, aren't you Fate?" Hayate stood, dressed in uniform.

--

The group awaited Yuuno's preliminary report. It was a cloudy morning and no one was quite awake yet. Hayate entered the room holding a tablet sized computer, two holograms at her side showing schedule charts.

"So damned early." Vita complained.

"Okay, we can't have this meeting and all be lucky enough to sit through Yuuno's report. It would appear the base commanders and the chiefs of security were requested for this meeting, and some of the brass may be hear later today. However, someone needs to be on patrol of the outer region. I think this would be a job for either our enforcer or our two main security wardens, am I right?" Hayate didn't bat an eye, continuing her work at her screen.

Fate took this chance. "Of course you're right, it is natural with so much security here you would need your best security out on the field, right?"

"Best security? So then I should be there, right?" Vita interjected.

Even Signum did not enjoy the concept of sitting through another report. "You should get someone proficient at range to go, I have my bow, so I am an ideal choice. I also fair quite well in close and moderate combat."

Hayate raised a brow. 'Sure it was a report, but it's still Yuuno, surely he wouldn't bombard us with boring things...or then again, we've all heard Yuuno's speeches before...maybe'

"Maybe I should go?" Nanoha sat back in her chair. "That's what the look on your face says, Hayate. Look, if it's a security matter – then you want your base commander here. Also, the lead enforcer should know everything about the bases security. Same for Vita and Signum. If it's a matter of range, I am certainly proficient, and as an instructor I have no obligation to be here. So if it's patrol work, I should be the one to go. Even if something tells me I'd enjoy it the least out of everyone here, since you all seem ready and willing to go...however, it simply makes sense."

"Then it's decided then. Nanoha, take a full patrol of the outer region. Anything that's within an eight hour walk of here, take a fly by, you should cover it in no time."

Nanoha gives a formal salute and walks out, grabbing her coat. As she leaves, she hears a familiar irritated voice behind her.

"Good, you can air out that uniform of yours!"

--

The report was finally finished. Shamal could only wish it could be more extensive. That and being able to put something under the "treatment" section of the report would make her feel a lot better.

Zafira looked up at Shamal's troubled posture. "You cannot figure it out?"

Shamal looked down at the blue wolf. "…You know, healing a friend or fellow Wolkenritter is one thing, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I decided to enlist under the medical section of the TSAB."

"You simply wanted to follow your master…there is no dishonor in that." The guardian beast stood up and stretched his body.

"It's an interesting job I must say. A lot of reading and learning, there are decisions that must be made on the spot. Still, times like this when it seems there is no answer…"

Zafira got up and pawed his way around a cabinet. "You've lived your life knowing exactly what to do and how to do it, being programmed into you. If there's anything I learned by watching everyone in the last few years – it's that there isn't always an answer and a lot of people come into this world knowing nothing. We should consider ourselves lucky that we get to live a mortal life now – it's what we've been working for this last decade. Though mortals have the hardest time finding answers in this world, and some mortals spend their entire lives never finding the answer. That was probably part of the reason the Tome of the Night Sky was created. You need to keep your priorities straight and move on, even if there's nothing you can do for the girl. From the situation it seems it'll have to be something she'll need to get through herself anyhow." Zafira opened up a box of treats with his teeth.

Shamal took an eyeful of the sight. An incredibly wise and intelligent Velkan beast, yet taking the simple pleasure of a treat Midchilda uses for domesticated dogs. "You're so observant Zafira, yet you sit before me eating a puppy's treat."

"Sometimes we must enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Also, this tastes like bacon." Gnawing through another treat.

Shamal returned to her work. "You know those shouldn't be allowed in the medical facility anyway…"

"Bite me." Zafira snarled. "If I have to spend all my time indoors I need to have some sort of enjoyment. I was thinking of transferring to the environmental squad just because I can't stand it in here all day."

"Caro said she wanted to do that too to me at one point I believe…still, what should I call this? The only information I got was it's a type of telepathic disconnect that happens when a summoner's primary summon disagrees with their actions. Maybe just withdrawal symptoms from their pact?" Shamal paged through the digital records, touching the holographic shortcuts on her database device.

"Why not name it after her? That happens a lot in medicine, does it not?" Zafira bounced the idea.

"No…Caro wouldn't want that. Summoner Bond Psychosis works, I suppose…"

"Boring name." Munch.

--

Caro could see herself on her bed in the dormitory. She couldn't move, just a constant feeling of anxiety as she laid on her mattress.

'No one wants me to do anything. Nanoha just wants me to keep out of her way. Fate just sees me as a kid and thinks I'm not ready to live life on my own. Erio isn't here for me. My dragon hates me…why? Why is this happening to me?' Her pupils dilated as she only saw her problems in front of her, no longer seeing reality.

It was then the events of a few weeks ago played in her mind. Tears welled as she saw Erio hit the ground…and that's when she repeated those words. Those words that wanted the death of her opponent.

"Voltaire…end her." The memories of that forgotten day returning to her, a struggle for realization occurring within herself.

'No…I've only ever tried to fight for everyone. Fight for what's right, never do any wrong.' Pink locks swayed back and forth as Caro fought herself. 'I've never tried to get in anyone's way.' Caro felt her eyes close tightly. 'It's clear now, no one ever wanted me around. Not my own village, not the TSAB.' Even if I saw Erio today and he wanted to forgive me, he'd forever hold what I did against me. Same for anyone else…it's all pointless. I've ruined everything I built. They could all live happy if I wasn't here. Or, I can fight and get my place back…that girl…she took everything from me. If I could have stopped her Erio never would have been taken from me. Friedliche wouldn't be mad at me. Fate would praise me and see me on her level. The TSAB would acknowledge me as the best summoner they have…if I just…stop her…'

...

Lutecia awoke aside Erio, the sun grazing her face. It was certainly a first that she awoke with the sun. She lazily glazed her eyes over to see Erio sleeping silently, red hair ruffled in the dirt.

'_Somehow…it's not as bad this morning.'_ Lutecia silently attempted to scuttle her way out of the sleeping bag without awaking Erio – though it's pretty hard not to wake up a soldier when you're brushing up against them. Lutecia pushed against Erio, who was lazily waking up himself. Lutecia was almost completely awake at this point, since she had been attempting to focus her movements.

"Lutecia…what are you doing?" Lutecia felt his breath on her face. This whole situation was becoming hopeless.

"I…I just awoke." Lutecia said stoically. The two pushed against each other, trying to get out of the sleeping bag. Erio tried to push his knees between Lutecia's shins, and Lutecia tried to push across his chest. The struggle went on for nearly a minute before they both came to the realization.

"I'm stuck!" They chorused, trying to get out. The sleeping bag rolled back and forth, as they began to tumble to the side, constantly rolling.

"Wait, lets do this right, maybe if we roll on our sides it'll be easier to get out."

"If you think that will work, I will try it."

The two rolled over on their side. Then to the other side. Then to the other side, and continued rolling….down a hill.

"This is all your fault!" Erio shouted as they rolled on down.

"You are the one who recommended we should roll on our side." Lutecia retorted.

"How did you even get in this sleeping bag anyway!"

"It was fine last night, you must have done something!"

"I didn't ask you to come into my sleeping bag!"

Suddenly they felt themselves suddenly stop rolling. Erio in particular felt a stave protruding into his side. "Why do people have to yell in the morning?" Nanoha glanced down at the boy and the naked girl at his side. "Oh what a complicated web we weave, isn't that so, Erio-kun?"

–--

I apologize for the long wait. This will be ending soon, I really wanted to end with this chapter but felt I should update. I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a review.

Komidol

Edit: Minor fix, "Erio's Dream" was not supposed to be at the top of the document, that's because I was all over all the place in my writing. I caught it immediately after uploading but it didn't update for some time. Sorry 'bout that, shoulda double checked.

Edit2: Grammar Fixes. Sorry if it pings as a new chapter.


End file.
